Coaches Corner
Coaches Corner
Coaches Corner
Long-term Athlete Development Summit
Contributions and Achievements of Laurie Wachs, Head Coach Saskatoon Aqualenes and High Performance Coach for Saskatchewan
In November 2004 Laurie Wachs was inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame as a “Sport Builder”. In November of 2000 the Coaching Association of Canada selected Laurie Wachs as the recipient of the 3M Coaching Canada Award in the Development Sport – Female Category. Each year the Coaching Association of Canada honors a female coach in development sport for outstanding contribution to coaching and athlete development.
Laurie Wachs has twenty-five years of coaching experience and has assumed two roles over the past eight years, Head Coach of the Saskatoon Aqualenes Synchronized Swimming Club and High Performance Coach for Synchro Saskatchewan’s High Performance Program. She has coached and inspired numerous teams and individuals to medal winning performances including the first and only duet (Leanne Teplitsky and Lesley Wright, Aqualenes) and team (Tier 6 Aqualenes) to receive “National Titles” in the province. She has placed numerous athletes on the National Team including two athletes from our province that represented Canada at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics as members of the National Synchronized Swimming team. Laurie’s long time athlete Lesley Wright is currently a performer in Cirque de Soliel’s “O” Water show in Vegas.
Laurie has placed Saskatoon Aqualenes athlete Jessica Guenther onto the Junior 13-15 National Team for two years in row. In June (2006) her Tier 6 Saskatoon Aqualenes Team made synchronized swimming history for Saskatchewan by winning the 16 and over division at the Canadian Espoir synchronized swimming championships in Etobicoke, Ont. The Aqualenes are the first Saskatchewan Synchro club to win a national team title. Laurie’s athlete Jessica Guenther won silver in 15 and under figures and bronze in 15 and under solo at the 2006 Canadian Championships. Jessica Guenther also won triple gold at 2006 Westerns (Solo, Team, Figures) and Gold in Figures/Silver in Solo/Bronze in Team at 2007 Westerns.
Laurie accomplished another first ever for Team Saskatchewan by coaching Jessica Guenther to a Bronze medal solo performance at the 2007 Canada Winter Games in White Horse.
Laurie is dedicated to developing all-around athletes. She spends a great deal of time working on activities that empower her athletes to develop self-confidence, positive thinking, stress management, elimination of negative self-talk, and leadership abilities.
Laurie is a fully certified level 3 coach, and Level 1-3 Synchronized Swimming Course Conductor. She is committed to pursuit of excellence in coaching. She has attended numerous conferences and workshops to develop her coaching abilities including: Conference on Leadership Development and Team Building, 2003 Pan American Olympic Solidarity Conference, numerous Sport Leadership Conferences, World Aquatic Championships, and yearly visits to Synchro Canada’s “Center of Excellence” to work with Canada’s top athletes, Olympic and National Team Coaches.
Laurie’s high level of energy and enthusiasm has led to her being named Synchro Saskatchewan’s “Coach of the Year ” four times. She is the four-time winner of Saskatoon Aqualenes Club “Coach of the Year”.
Laurie believes Sport should be for “All” and is particularly proud of three initiatives she has developed locally and provincially. The first is a local program that her club was the first to pilot – Synchronized Swimming for 5-7 years olds. Laurie has been a believer and promoter of this wonderful Aqua Giggles program. Many of the clubs competitive athletes have started out in this entry level program. Laurie co-coaches this program in her club.
The second local program she has adopted is her “Syn-crows”. Originating and training out of the YWCA this group of “older” women have trained under Laurie for the past six years. She has encouraged these women to get out of their comfort zone by developing routines and working on their skill development. She expects them to work hard, stay sharp and keep in shape no matter what their age – her oldest in 84.
The third provincial program Laurie has spearheaded is Synchro Saskatchewan’s High Performance Program. Laurie had a vision to create, implement, and maintain a high performance training program for Saskatchewan’s Elite Level Synchronized Swimmers. This program is highly regarding by Sask Sport and Synchro Canada for “Best Initiative to Develop National Level Athletes”. The program objectives are athlete and coach, recruitment, development, and retention. The training program consists of monthly training camps for all National level athletes and coaches in the province training with National level coach clinicians and sports science specialists to develop technical skills, flex and conditioning, strength training, mental training/self-esteem development and nutrition. Saskatchewan Athletes and coaches share in a common vision and shared goals in an effort to raise the standard of training and performance of club athletes and coaches.
Contributions to the Lives of Women and Vision and Values
Synchronized swimming is predominantly a female sport. One of the reasons Laurie has stayed involved for so many years is due to the mentorship she feels she can provide to women, young and old alike. Laurie is a coach of coaches and a coach of athletes. She believes the technical skills athletes and coaches develop through their involvement in sport are secondary to the valuable life skills they acquire. She is committed to building better people; athletes and coaches who are confident, committed to peak personal performance in and out of the pool, and who are passionate about learning and personal development.
Leadership development and team building are the foundation of her coaching program. At the start of each season her teams (coaching team and athlete team) each build a vision and mission statement. Laurie empowers her teams to set goals, make decisions, and solve problems. She fosters commitment from her teams, which leads them to make necessary changes that will help them implement their goals and decisions. Laurie’s ultimate goal is for her teams to be self-managed, when leadership from within has begun to occur as this means she has developed team players and future leaders.
Laurie believes success breeds success and when young (or old) women attain a vision/goal it provides them with the esteem to try it again – maybe in a different area of their life.
Laurie’s gift is her ability to inspire each woman she touches. She rewards routinely and recognizes relentlessly and makes each athlete and coach feel they are a valued member of the team. Quoted in the Star Phoenix as saying, “ I am very demanding and certainly I say to the athletes and coaches I have high expectations. I believe in the pursuit of excellence. That’s excellence to what (the potential of) each swimmer and coach can produce.”
If you have any questions of concerns, please feel free to contact me at 651-2500!
Coach Profiles
Carrie Demmans-Epp
Laura Gawley
Crystal Meakin
Pamela Bodnarchuk
Carrie Demmans-Epp - I have been involved in Synchronized Swimming since I was 5 years old. I have experience as an athlete from all levels of competition available within Canada. I have been an athlete’s representative for both Synchro Canada and Synchro Saskatchewan, and I was the Summer Technical Coordinator and Special Olympics Coordinator for Synchro Saskatchewan.
I am a Level 3 NCCP Synchro coach, and a Level 1 NCCP Special Olympics Coach. I have also taken a Physiotherapy clinic on injury prevention.
At the 2004 Sask Summer Games I coached the Bronze medal team and duet, the first place figures swimmer, and I choreographed the Silver medal team. Some of my athletes have attended National and Divisional Championships.
I just finished my B. Sc. Double honors in Computer Science and Russian, and I am currently working on a Masters of Science at the University of Saskatchewan.
Laura Gawley - Hello, my name is Laura Gawley. This is my fifth year coaching for the club and I love it!! Before that I swam with the club for many years and therefore am totally in love with the sport of synchronized swimming! For the last three years I represented the Aqualenes in the National Age Group category. Two of the highlights during this time included 1st at Westerns and 3rd at Nationals. Those were probably some of the most exciting times in my synchro career!
I am in my final year of undergrad at the U of S, majoring in Psychology. After this I plan to apply for Masters and pursue a career in Educational Psychology.
I was recently named the Tier 1-5 coach of the year for Saskatchewan so that was pretty big accomplishment for me!
I’m very excited about the upcoming year and look forward to meeting you all!
This is my 3rd year coaching with the Aqualenes and 10th year coaching in total. I am coaching AquaGiggles 2, and a Tier 1 duet this year. I also help substitute for some coaches and coach various private lessons. I was a swimmer with SAQ in the 80’s for 6 years where I swam at Nationals, Western Canada Summer Games, Jeux Canada Winter Games.
I am currently a level 3 Synchro Coach, level 2 Special Olympic Coach and a level 2 Judge. I also am a facilitator for Synchro and Coaching theory courses.
In my off time I swim competitive Masters Synchronized Swimming. I also sit on the Synchro Sask board of directors. I chair a couple Synchro Sask committees. I work as an Educational Assistant and am taking classes at the University towards my Education degree.
Hello to Everyone! I have been coaching with the Aqualenes since 2004 and have been involved as a swimmer and coach for 8 years prior to this. During this year, I will mostly be coaching private lessons and extra routines, while helping with some substitute coaching. I am a certified Level 1 NCCP Synchro Coach and hope to attain Level 2 certification prior to the end of the season. I have also spent 2 years as a Synchro SK board member and have been the recipient of the Sadie Caulder Knight Coach of the Year award.
Currently, I am a student at the University of Saskatchewan and will be completing my B. Sc. in Biochemistry in May, while working toward completing my second degree in Chemical Engineering. In addition to coaching, I am a Student Ambassador for the U of S and Vice-President of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
I hope to share some smiles, laughter and successes with you this year!
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